1. Field of the Invention
The invention refers to a coupling for connecting hose conduits for medical purposes, and mole particularly to such a coupling including a first coupling member having supported therein an axially shiftable hollow plug for connecting thereto a first hose length and extending in its operating position through a sponge member capable of being soaked with a disinfectant and being capable of being pierced through a diaphragm for coupling to a second hose length, the diaphragm being connected with a second coupling member and both coupling members being releasably connected one with the other.
2. Description of the Prior Art
A device of the initially mentioned type has become known from German Patent Document AT-PS 386 523. In the known sterile connection, a plug is supported within a coupling member for being axially shiftable, and, when axially shifting the plug, the free end of the plug located remote from the hose connection is moved through elastically deformable insects, in particular bodies of foamed material, being impregnated with a disinfectant. In the known arrangement there is used in an advantageous manner a multipart insert member consisting of foamed material and receiving the disinfectant, so that it is possible to permanently make available within this coupling member a minimum amount of disinfectant and to replenish the required amount of disinfectant by means of the second removable body of foamed material when using the device several times. In this case, the bodies of foamed material have an opening being concentric relative to the axis of the plug and are, when shifting the plug in the axial direction, pressed against the outer surface of the plug under elastic compression. In this known arrangement, the second coupling member to be coupled with the first coupling member has the sole function to close in a sterile manner the equipment, such as for example in fusion bottles or the like, connected to said coupling member, for which purpose there is connected with the second coupling member a perforable diaphragm.
The hose line connected with the plug has, for example, been directly connected with the patient via a catheter and could remain in permanent connection with such a catheter when in fusion bottles,, bags or the like had to be interchanged. For such an interchange it was only necessary to move the plug back into its retracted position to make sure that any risk of infection is reduced when interchanging the infusion equipment or the like. The second coupling member could be brought into a conductive connection with the infusion equipment, in particular infusion bottles or the like, and when again extending the shiftable plug an open flow section of the hose conduit could be obtained with a minimum risk of contamination. In the known arrangement, the hose conduit leading to the patient was never closed. In contrast thereto, the openings, through which the plug has been shifted and via which the flow connection with the hose length connected to the second coupling member had been established, had, in the retracted position of the plug, their ends within the sponge member soaked with the disinfectant, which resulted, on the one hand, in the risk of sucking disinfectant from this sponge member into the conduit leading to the patient and, on the other hand, resulted in the possibility that in case of a corresponding pressure difference body fluids could be pressed into the sponge member.